Casino gaming has been in existence for many years. In casino gaming, a player is physically present at the casino and plays the game in person. This allows the player to place wagers directly. For example, a player may exchange money for chips and then wager those chips at a gaming table such as a poker table, craps table or the like. A player may also place wagers to play gaming machines. For example, a gaming machine may be configured to accept coins via a coin acceptor, paper currency via a bill acceptor, or printed value tickets or the like.
In recent years, mobile and remote gaming have both been developed. Mobile and remote gaming both permit a player to participate in a game at locations remote from a casino or other locations where the game or other wagering event occurs. In some jurisdictions, a player may be permitted to provide wagering funds from their remote location, such as by using a credit card or debit card. However, in other jurisdictions, transmitting funds over a telecommunication link in furtherance of wagering is not permitted. In those jurisdictions, a player is generally required to travel to the casino and deposit funds for later use in funding wagering games which the player plays remotely.
For example, a player may be required to travel to a casino, locate a casino cashier and provide funds and identification information to the casino cashier. The casino retains the player's funds for use by the player at a later time. This type of arrangement is well known, such as detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,470,196.
Of course, this arrangement has a number of drawbacks, the most significant of which is that the player must travel to a casino cashier to deposit funds. Aside from the travel, the player may be required to stand in a cashier line with other players who are making similar deposits, akin to waiting for a free teller at a bank. Generally, a casino only provides one or a small number of cashiers. Thus, if just a few players wish to deposit funds, each player may have to wait in a line to do so. Another drawback is that there is no direct feedback between the act of the player depositing funds and the player's mobile or remote gaming. The funds are merely deposited into the player's account and then the player must later access their account to determine the existence of the funds.
It also shall be noted that even in those jurisdictions where it is legal for remote gaming to be funded by a credit card or the like, the mere fact that such player may have to utilize multiple accounts for different purposes, such as one account when playing physically at a casino and another account when playing remotely, is also inconvenient and undesirable.